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Industrial Hygiene Digest
September, 1966 ,
be adjudicated differently in the future from the present system of ruling on injuries resulting from other immunizing injections. Extreme care should be exercised in the technique of in oculation and in the preinjection determination of the employee's sensitivity to specific biologic agents. Physicians and nurses in the occupational health field must re-examine and select the indications they use for conducting immunization programs--the exercise of general or special public health practice or the prevention of morbidity in workers occupationally exposed to com municable disease, and at greater risk than the public at large. There are 18 references.
-- Authors' summary
918 The Nature of Loss Prevention. E.E. Adams. J. Am. Soc. Safety Eng. J_l_, 17, 20 (Aug. 1966).
In business there are two basic sets of circumstances out of which losses can arise, the circum stances of uncertainty and the circumstances of risk. The circumstances of uncertainty are entered as a result of conscious management decision in the pursuit of profit, but always involving the possibility of loss. Uncertainty is characterized by a complete inability to forecast what will happen regardless of the amount of past experience. The classic example is the introduction of a new product. Risk bearing, out of which losses also arise, differs radically from uncertainty bearing. Unlike uncertainty, the results of risk are predictable. This predictability renders risk insurable. If enough risk bearers pool their funds, there will be sufficient available to cover the losses of the one in the group who experiences the incident. Risk can be reduced to certainty by pooling experience, uncertainty cannot and is therefore uninsurable. Risk is always borne involuntarily and it offers no hope of gain to anyone involved. The most common results of risk are broadly referred to as accidents, although other types, such as employee dishonesty, do occur. The general term accident would include fires and explosions, vehicle accidents, personal accidents, error situations resulting in equipment damage, and even such natural phenomena as tornadoes, floods and earthquakes. Loss prevention is specifically directed toward the elimination and reduction of risk to the maximum degree and by the most positive means economically justifiable. This involves problems in risk identification. In this, the plant safety committees, supervisors' injury investigations and accident reports, the engineering services of insurance carriers, and even individual employee suggestions are all important. Inspection and investigation are key techniques. Evaluation is often a more difficult problem than identi fication. How great is the risk and how urgent is the need for taking action? These are manage ment considerations. Sometimes consideration is postponed in the optimistic belief that it "can't happen here. " Through accident statistics and analyses it can not only be shown that it can happen, it is happening. Evaluation is frequently a critical problem for the loss prevention specialist. The often-heard complaint that management is not interested has its roots in this area. If the energy that has been devoted over the years to the preparation of articles, and giving of speeches, on the need for management support, had been directed instead to the problem of proper evaluation, the entire loss control effort would be much further advanced.
A C CI D E NTS AND PREVENTION
919 The Safety of Physically Disabled Drivers. L. Ysander. Brit.' J. Ind. Med. 23, 173-180 (July, 1966).
Four hundred and ninety-four disabled drivers, the majority with loss of function in the legs
usually as the result of poliomyelitis or amputations, have been studied with respect to the fre
quency of traffic accidents and seriouB traffic offenses during a ten-year period. Traffic ac
cidents which may have been caused by their disability occurred in only three (0. 6%) of the total
number of drivers investigated. In all three cases the driver had loss of function in the right
leg. A comparison was made between the investigation series and a control series identical as
regards sex, age, and license-holding period but with a shorter exposure to traffic than the in
vestigation series. The frequency of traffic accidents amounted to 7. i% in both series, and the
frequency of serious traffic offenses was 12. 2% in the investigation series and 14.8% in the control
series. Disabled drivers are not an increased hazard in traffic. The compensatory technical
modifications to the vehicle which are generally adopted appeared to be adequate. However, there
was a relatively increased frequency of accidents among drivers with loss of function in the right
leg or right arm. An improvement of the technical modifications applied in these cases might
result in a further reduction of the road-safety risks.
-- Author's abst.
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